Casa Calexico

[Tunaman68]

We made our choice for July and went with Audrey and Joop at Casa Calexico. We liked the look and feel of the small property with personal service.

So far communication has been great, and booking and price were great! I hope the location down by Divi won't be a disappointment vs being at CC by oil slick, but being able to walk to dinner in town (which is the meal we intend to eat out) after a day of driving around to dive sites seemed better that limiting to one beer and having to drive a dark donkey filled road at night back to the resort.

Any feedback or suggestions are welcome!

 

[boat sju]

Looks like you found a good place. If you get a chance check out Caribbean Club too. I'd be interested in how you compare the two. You'll probably get a chance to see the Dive Hut and adjacent properties since you'll most likely end up at the BBQ on Thursday.

Oh, and don't worry, the road to Oil Slick isn't really that donkey infested.

 

[diversteve]

I think that's a better location for dinner. The other good BBQ is the one at Coconut Crash Beach Bar at the Plaza. Tuesday night now IIRC. Live music, volleyball. Park in the small lot north of the resort and walk in on the closed off road. 18 Palms (Plaza's dive site) is there also. http://www.plazaresortbonaire.com/restaurant-bars.htm

It seemed like no matter where we dove, we drove by our apt. (Belmar) at least once per day. From downtown south it's a short distance south past the airport to all the really good south sites - the Hooker, Angel City, Invisibles, Salt Pier etc. My buddy thought the best dive we did all week was Vista Blue near the lighthouse but the current was ripping in the afternoon.

Oh, and don't worry, the road to Oil Slick isn't really that donkey infested.

That's the un-lit road around the lagoon on the way to the airport. When we were there, they hovered nearby waiting for a handout. They're pretty tame if you want to do so but it's discouraged by the Sanctuary people as it promotes them getting hit. Since Waterlands Vilage went in, that may be a non-issue now.

 

[uncfnp]

Have a great time and make sure you post a trip review when you return! If you are interested, there are several great threads with general Bonaire info and dive sites.

 

[Tunaman68]

Have a great time and make sure you post a trip review when you return! If you are interested, there are several great threads with general Bonaire info and dive sites.

I will post what we discover, and have been reading the boards with all my spare time. I am expecting to check out the CC property as the northern dive sites really look interesting to me, and I'm sure we'll be up there a lot!

Since Casa Calexico is close to Divi, what would you all think is our best 'house' reef?

Also, their dive op is WannaDive - it looks like Eden is their base of ops!?!? - how far in driving minutes is it to their shop, or will we be filling out paperwork, doing our briefing and checkout somewhere else?

It's hard to judge driving times by reading and looking at the maps, so how far would you say it is to Oil Slick and the 1000 steps area in drive time from let's say the Divi Resort? Also if we wanted to do Karpata etc how far in drive time is the 'one way road loop' back to where we came from once we start?

Thanks!!!

 

[diversteve]

Since Casa Calexico is close to Divi, what would you all think is our best 'house' reef?

Divi's. http://www.shorediving.com/Earth/ABC/BonaireN/Calabas_Reef/index.htm

Near the beach it was trashed a few years ago in the hurricane but deeper shouldn't have been too affected. You're about 300' away from there IIRC. IDK the Divi's policy but usually on Bonaire there's no issue with diving the house reefs - esp. if you rent tanks from them. We've even brought our own to other resorts. Just check in with the dive operator first.

The only one that charges is Habitat - $5 to use the lockers/showers - worth it to dive Cliff. But you can also drive down the dirt road north of Habitat and access it from shore there. There's a small parking area - the rest is private property - owned by Hamlet Oasis. http://www.shorediving.com/Earth/ABC/BonaireN/Cliff/index.htm

Also, their dive op is WannaDive - it looks like Eden is their base of ops!?!? - how far in driving minutes is it to their shop, or will we be filling out paperwork, doing our briefing and checkout somewhere else?

There's several Wannadive's. Eden Beach is 5mins. north of town. They have another location at the Dive Hut in town and a third at Windsock Beach Resort south of town. Afaik you can exchange tanks at any of them. Dive Hut isn't on the water but you could possibly do your BMP dive at Windsock also. Either one is an easy entry - maybe Windsock is a slightly better dive. But there's a couple small wrecks off Eden Beach or nearby also. http://www.shorediving.com/Earth/ABC/BonaireN/Windsock/index.htm

It's hard to judge driving times by reading and looking at the maps, so how far would you say it is to Oil Slick and the 1000 steps area in drive time from lest say the Divi Resort?

10 minutes. More if there's a big ship blocking the view north...lol.

Spoiler

Also if we wanted to do Karpata etc how far in drive time is the 'one way road loop' back to where we came from once we start?

5-10 mins.? to Karpata from the "sign". Somewhere around there it becomes a dirt road IIRC. 10-15mins. from Karpata to Rincon. 10-15 back to town. More if you run into the goats...

If you want to see the flamingos, that's a good time to do so - Lake Gotomeer is in that area. But I just read recently that there was an oil spill there so that may have changed. There's also flamingos often feeding in the salt flats near Salt Pier - that's where we saw them.

 

[uncfnp]

Looking at google map, it looks like you will have to load and go to any of the dive sites so I don't think that you can really think of any of them as a house reef but rather what dive are you in the mood for, 1 tank or 2 while you are out and how far to drive.

I have not done any dives in the Divi area except Chachada in front of Dive Friends/Dive Inn. It is mostly trash and debride in the shallows. It may be decent deeper. I don't know. I dove this site to see seahorses and a frog fish that was reported there. Check with DF before you go to see what's been spotted lately. They actually have a dry erase board to show landmarks at their Dive Inn location. To me not worth it unless you really want to see a seahorse.

South of you, I have heard that Windsock is an adequate dive with easy entry and good to "get your feet wet" with shore diving in Bonaire. I have also heard good things about Something Special north of you at the DF Yelow Submarine location.

A little futher north still is a good 2 tank combo that I have dove frequently, Bari Reef and the Cliff at DF Hamlet. A small deli, Between Two Buns is in a small shopping area on the left just past the round a about at Bari's. Great sandwiches but a little pricy for lunch. I think Bari also makes a good night dive.

Further north, another 2 tank combo I recommend is Oil Slick then any of the othe dives to 1000 Steps and to me Steps is worth the effort, at least once.

Then the one way road starts and you are committed to a longer drive home. On that stretch, I do Tolo (ole Blue) and of course Karpata. Probably my two favorite dives of all.

Lots of great dives South too and require a little less logistics. Margate Bay is my favorite. Also highly recommend Salt Pier. But most any of the sites before you start getting to the area of current (I think that's somewhere past Margate) is good. Drive along until you see an entry that looks doable to you, park and dive!

The one way road starts past 1000 steps and goes to Karpata. At Karpata, you swing inland through Rincon to home. I am bad with time /distance guestimations. Maybe 30 mins from Karpata to Kralendijk?